Jordan marks World AIDS Day with low infection rate, quality treatments

AMMAN — On World AIDS Day, which falls on December 1, health professionals are celebrating Jordan's place among the countries with the lowest AIDS rates in the world, according to the Ministry of Health.

Hadeel Ashaari, the director of the ministry’s communicable diseases department, said that a survey conducted in December of 2018 covering all communicable diseases showed that around 260 Jordanians were diagnosed with AIDS at the time, and until now no additional cases have been discovered.

The ministry survey revealed that those diagnosed with the disease mainly contracted it through sexual intercourse and not through infected needles or other publicly-shared items.

“Health clinics in Jordan follow a strict hygiene code when it comes to items allocated for multi-usage, and most, if not all, use disposables,” said Hiyam Sarayrah, a doctor at the ministry, in previous remarks to The Jordan Times.

Out of the 260 citizens, 229 are currently receiving free treatment at various medical centres across the Kingdom, according to Ashaari.

She added that the treatment is offered to citizens for free, while foreigners are deported immediately.

The department’s former director Nashaat Taani noted that “as soon as citizens are diagnosed, we refer them to the nearest health clinic and track their latest activities lest they had accidently communicated the disease to someone else”.

He noted that the treatment is “highly effective” and that “patient life expectancy increases after receiving it”.

The total number of patients recorded in Jordan, including those who have passed away and those who are still living, is around 450, Sarayrah noted.

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent published estimate of lifetime HIV treatment cost was $379,670, so providing it for free “is a great health privilege for the citizens”, Sarayrah said.